A Gilroy man facing murder and robbery charges will stand trial
in February.
A Gilroy man facing murder and robbery charges will stand trial in February.
Otto Emil Koloto, 23, of Gilroy pleaded not guilty to murder and second degree robbery charges stemming from the July 2008 shooting death of a 27-year-old South San Francisco man. Koloto’s accomplice, Donald Robert Lee, 22, originally faced a murder charge, but pleaded guilty to an accessory charge and was sentenced to one year in county jail followed by five years of probation, according to Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Amy Cornell.
After months of searching, police found Koloto hiding out in a South San Jose condominium and arrested him Oct. 2, 2008, for the killing of Philip Lacy, police said
About 2 a.m. July 13, 2008, Koloto shot and killed Lacy in Palo Alto during a street robbery that spiraled out of control, police said. Lee was at the scene of the crime and was Koloto’s accomplice, police said. Lacy had been waiting for friends near the Palo Alto City Hall parking garage after a night of bar hopping, police said. He died from his wounds several days later at Stanford Hospital.
Koloto’s trial is set for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 8 in Department 24 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose. At that hearing, the case will be assigned to another courtroom and could start later that day, Cornell said.
